‘Adam had a younger sister…?’
I knew he had lost his parents at a young age and had risen to the position of a Count early on, but I had no idea he had a sister.
If she were an important character, she would have been mentioned in the community several times already.
The new character, Serena, was in a terrible state of disfigurement. Her entire body, including her face, was partially skinned as if she had suffered a full-body burn.
Perhaps to alleviate the pain of touching the affected area, she was wearing thin clothing that exposed her arms and legs, making her condition even more apparent.
She couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 years old.
The cruel circumstances imposed on a young child made my brows furrow in disbelief.
“Count, this is…”
I cautiously began to speak.
“Have you ever heard of a disease where one cannot see the sun?”
Adam, still fixated on his younger sister, suddenly asked.
His tone was no different from before, but perhaps due to the situation, his voice sounded even more somber.
I pondered for a moment whether to say nothing, but then I answered truthfully.
“…I have never heard of it.”
I had expected him to mock me for not knowing, considering my occupation as an apothecary.
Surprisingly, Adam nodded as if he had anticipated my response.
“It’s a rare disease that even the Imperial physicians don’t understand. The main symptom is burning upon exposure to sunlight.”
“Sunlight?”
I looked at Serena again, surprised.
I thought her wounds were caused by fire, not sunlight. It was a disease I had never heard of even in reality.
‘How painful it must have been.’
Until the disease was diagnosed, she must have endured the agony of her skin burning every time she went outside, not knowing the cause.
Whether she had used painkillers or not, Serena was peacefully asleep, muttering something indistinct.
Even though she was a new character to me, she elicited the deepest sympathy out of all the characters in this game.
“At first, it was just spots on her arms, but as time passed, the wounds spread like they had been burned by fire, and pus started to ooze.”
“…”
“No matter how we tried to shield her from the sun with curtains or use various potions and remedies, it was futile. The burn marks that had already formed only worsened and never healed.”
I remembered when I first arrived at the manor.
The blackout curtains were drawn behind the chandelier even though it was broad daylight.
‘Come to think of it, the study and here too…’
The lamps were lit so I hadn’t noticed, but all the windows in the mansion were covered with curtains.
As I inspected the windows more carefully, Adam continued speaking in silence.
“Her pain was unbearable for a young girl, so we resorted to strong painkillers and eventually had to force her into sleep.”
“…”
“At least the sleeping potion we gave her had fewer side effects than the drugs available in the market.”
The sleeping potion he mentioned earlier had ultimately been for his younger sister.
With the lifeline of his only family at stake, it was only natural for him to inquire about the ingredients and potential side effects.
It’s no wonder Adam saw through my lie about memory loss.
I suddenly recalled what he had said when we first met, as I tried to prove my worth as an apothecary.
“I’m pretty sure I instructed them to find an apothecary who can solve insomnia.”
‘He really needed that sleeping potion.’
On top of that, I had confidently asserted that I could make both sleeping and awakening potions, so it was entirely reasonable for Adam to hire me without suspicion.
‘It’s more complicated than I thought…’
Even the details I had glossed over for the sake of progress now took on a different significance, considering the hidden circumstances. It made me see the developers in a new light.
And then…
“Ugh… Ahh, it hurts… It hurts…”
“Serena!”
Adam, who had been sitting on the bed, suddenly jumped up when he heard the sound of sobbing coming from the bed.
Alarmed, I peered into the canopy as well.
The child, who had been sleeping peacefully just a moment ago, woke up with her face contorted and tears streaming down her face.
“Everyone’s dying… I’m dying! It hurts, sob! Brother… dying! I’m dying!”
Serena, upon spotting Adam, suddenly convulsed and began having a seizure.
‘Ah.’
I sighed softly as I watched her.
Unlike Adam’s bright blue eyes, Serena’s pupils were dilated and dark.
‘A Dark-Eater Centipede.’
Recognizing its presence solved the mystery of Adam’s strange behavior.
“It’s okay, Serena. Everything’s okay…”
Adam, who was skillfully tending to his sister as if this was a common occurrence, turned his head to me as I stood there helplessly.
“Hey, do you happen to have a sleeping potion with you?”
“What? Yes, I do!”
Having an unlimited inventory finally came in handy here.
I reached into my pocket, took out a sleeping potion, and handed it to him after opening the lid.
“Thank you.”
“Ah! It hurts! Let go! I’m dying… ugh!”
Adam swiftly took it and pushed it into the girl’s mouth.
It was a somewhat unconventional but fast method.
As the sleep potion took effect, the girl’s violent convulsions subsided.
Serena fell into a deep sleep once again.
Adam carefully placed her down and tidied the disheveled bedding with a very careful touch.
Finally, after looking somewhat fatigued, he stood up and turned to me.
“I owe you.”
「 [Adam Hailey] feels favorable towards you. 」
Of all the system windows that had appeared so far, this was the most favorable state.
Considering I had only given him a potion, the reward was quite generous, but I didn’t feel particularly happy about it.
‘Of all people, I had to get involved with a sickly kid…’
It felt more like a misfortune.
Dark-attribute monsters could be dealt with using light-attribute weapons, but Serena had to avoid sunlight to survive.
However, the only weapon I had was the [Sunlight Potion].
“As an apothecary hired by the Count, it was only my duty to help…”
As I pondered how to save Serena, I replied to Adam’s words a moment too late.
“You’re more humble than I thought.”
Even in the midst of confusion, I wondered what the main characters had thought of me.
“I won’t ask why you’re helping the sinner.”
Adam, who had briefly shown a more human side while looking at Serena, erased his expression and returned to NPC mode as he spoke.
“Let me give you a piece of advice and repay the debt I owed you earlier.”
“What…”
“Stop collecting the essence of darkness anymore and leave this place quietly tonight after receiving the money from my aide.”
“Count.”
“The payment for the potion should suffice.”
As shown in the system window, it might have been a gesture of goodwill, but it didn’t sit well with me.
‘It’s probably because of the boss.’
Adam must be being blackmailed, using Serena as leverage.
This wouldn’t do. I pointed out the problems in order to persuade Adam.
“Then what about the manor? What about the employees if we leave the dark-eater centipede alone? What about the sinner…?”
“…”
“Potions aren’t all-powerful, Count. Last night, their duration was reduced by more than half, so I stayed by the sinners’ side all night…”
“I’ve been wondering about that.”
Adam, who had been silent throughout my lengthy talk about the manor’s situation, interrupted me with an unexpected remark.
“Is this place worth protecting even if it sacrifices my last remaining family?”
He seemed to be speaking to me, but his gaze was directed elsewhere.
His normally clear blue eyes flickered with the reflection of a murky wasteland for a moment.
It was a fleeting moment, but I felt an inexplicable chill.
“What are you talking about…?”
“Apothecary, there is nothing more you can do here.”
His eyes, which had been floating in a bewildering void, thankfully regained their clarity.
“So don’t bother meddling and get as far away as you can. That’s all the advice I can give you.”
“Count…”
“And in the future, it would be best for your well-being to pay no attention to what happens in the Hailey territory.”
“…”
“If you’ve understood, then leave now.”
Adam turned his gaze to the bed and gestured roughly. It was a dismissal.
At that moment, a creepy premonition crept into my mind.
‘Could this guy… be trying to bring about the disaster?’
I shook my head immediately. It didn’t make sense, even to me.
Adam Hailey was someone who had fought alone, right up to the very end, on a land that turned into a sea of fire after the disaster.
Why would ‘that’ Adam Hailey, the one who killed himself for failing to stop the disaster, be…
For him to suddenly turn dark and go mad instead of the protagonist was unthinkable.
‘Why is a supporting character suddenly going berserk instead of the main character? This crazy game…’
I didn’t know why I had been subjected to this crappy route, but it was bound to lead to some severe trouble.
However, for whatever reason, if Adam had given up on protecting the Hailey territory…
“…I, I’ll do it!”
I had to resolve this whole situation by any means necessary.
That’s the only way I can escape from this damn game.
“I’ll handle it all!”
Despite my desperate plea, Adam, who was still watching Serena, turned to me with his usual indifferent expression.
He stared at me for a while as if gauging my sincerity, then finally tilted his head and asked.
“…What can you do?”
「 [Adam Hailey] believes that you are somewhat incompetent. 」
Following the tone of his genuinely puzzled question, the system window appeared, almost as if it were scrutinizing and verifying.
It was a more merciless evaluation than Cassel, who was already messed up. These bastards had no mercy.
But I didn’t have time to feel wronged. I needed to persuade him immediately.
“I’ll capture the leader of the Dark-Eater Centipede and eliminate the monsters in a way that doesn’t threaten Lady Serena’s life.”
Adam’s tilted head snapped up.
His eyes narrowed at the mention of his family, and I hastened to add a condition.
“Although I won’t be able to cure her completely…”
“…”
“Oh, no! I mean, I’ll do my best to find a way!”
In response to the subtle change in his icy expression, I quickly changed my words, tears welling up.
‘To think I would pick up on even the expression of an NPC-like guy within a day…’
God, I feel so pathetic.
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